The Leadership Pipeline

This post is inspired by Ram Charan’s - 'The Leadership Pipeline’. Ram Charan talks about different passages of growth which an individual goes through in an organization or the many organizations he/ she works through..

I particularly got glued to the chapter where he talks about the passage from ‘Managing Self' to 'Managing Others’. I completely identify and agree when he says that individuals ‘recognize this transition intellectually but reject it psychologically…’

For a detailed and enlightening information, I would suggest that this is a must read for all professionals… for the ones who might forget to buy a copy of this book… here’s a bird’s eye view of the shift in value system required for the above Level 1 transition...

How do you define Level 1 transition?
When you are recognized as a successful individual contributor in the organization who produces profitable results, you are promoted to the 1st line manager…now you get a team to work with you..More than half of your time is dedicated to ‘managing’ rather than ‘doing’

Key Value Shift
From getting results through personal efficiency to getting results through others… It’s easy to fall in the temptation of doing things yourself. It sure is faster, but pause… is it the most effective… would you be able to manage larger roles and responsibilities alone… Absolutely not… Trust and train your team.

Team success over personal success… As a manager, a value shift of team over self is absolutely essential. Remember, your appraisal would depend upon your team’s success story rather than your individual performance.

From relationship building for personal results to relationship building for team’s success … Indulge in workplace socialization. You should engage in relationship building with your boss, direct reports, peers, customers, cross function employees for the team’s benefit. This exercise would build trust and would keep the communication transparent and flowing.

Avoid overpowering direct reports with your expertise… Coach and guide your team.. assess the situation and chose the role of a coach, a mentor, a guide, a boss or a peer. Allow them a certain amount of latitude in the way they carry out their assignment… your role is to observe, monitor and provide feedback.

Be available… both physically and emotionally… Remember, being approachable is crucial to your leadership role. Your body language, attitude, speech should exuberate positive vibe… a feeling that you are not just present but actively present for them.

True it is the responsibility of the Human Resource or the L&D function to train the 1st line managers, but I feel that the responsibility also lies with the individual to absorb and adapt the change in behavioural values. If individuals are not made aware about the importance of shift in value systems required with each leadership role, it definitely would result in, as Ram Charan puts succinctly, ‘clogged leadership pipeline’.

This is the first in the series and I intend to share all the six passages of leadership mentioned by Ram Charan in this fabulous book. Stay tuned:-)

Coach Yourself to be Happy & Successful - Part 2/2

Hi! here’s the second part of the earlier post… Few more simple, easy to follow tips to keep ourselves happy.

1. Exercise Exercise!… – Here I am not preaching about some elaborate exercise regimen or fancy gymming. It could be as simple as dancing to your favorite song, 20-30 minutes brisk walk in the neighbourhood or yoga for an 45-60 minutes 3-4 days a week. Believe me, it’s one of the best stress busters. Again, it adds to your self esteem. Even better, if you team up with your family, spouse or friend…it adds to the overall energy level.

2. Extend Help – Helping others makes you feel good about yourself; it could be helping your colleague with presentation skills or donating money for someone in need, giving an hour a month to an under-privileged school, giving some time to a neighbourhood cause, etc. Whenever I have given some time to others, I have felt happy.

3. Be close to nature – If nature is not close to you, you get close to nature…having a couple of potted plants or just a beautiful money plant on your kitchen window sill also helps. (I love mine on my window sill..)

4. Meditate – Don’t have time…Try for 5 minutes every day – you would learn the art and feel the power of meditation… It’s amazing. You can meditate sitting on your office chair, while commuting, while waiting for someone. In our busy lives creating that 5 minute oasis is often what will calm you and make you happy!

5. Be Child like – Let loose and be yourself…laugh, sing, dance, play pranks ….You are never too old to practice these things. Soon, you will notice people around you will love you for this.

Aren’t you already feeling a little good….I am:-)

P.S. In the picture above, it's my son's first bowl of pop corn which he made the day before. Enough to make our day blissful..

Coach Yourself to be Happy & Successful - Part 1/2

The good news is that it’s very easy to be successful….It is scientifically proven if you want to be successful, you need to train your brain to be positive and happy.

The last few articles I came across coincidentally talked about the importance and power of being positive and happy. Hence, I thought of summarizing some of these simple yet often forgotten practices:

1. Be nice to yourself (more often)– Shower yourself with nice compliments (I am sure each one of us has something good in us.It works... Stand in front of the mirror and say something good about yourself… nothing works like a high self-esteem. Start today!

2. Get Talking & Listen more - Talk to people who matter, people you work with – peer, colleagues, subordinate, mentor, coach; people you care about; talk to yourself…Also start listening more…. An honest two-way communication breaks barriers and is a very effective key to solving simple or complex problems at the workplace or at home.

3.Jadu Ki Jhappi( you read it right)– Hug stimulates, ‘Oxytocin’ –love hormones…. So follow Munna Bhai and be generous with Jadu ki Jhappi - with your kids, spouse, family. It feels good to share one ups and downs with others as well. Be open with your feelings from time to time. You needn't be serious all the time.

4.Express Gratitude - It helps you see positive thoughts and actions around and manage your ego. Positive environment is infectious and helps spread happiness. Check this site and be inspired!

Try these for a couple of days…. Will dish up a few more simple tips in my next post…

Prepare yourself to be a Leader- Coach : The GROW Model

A well coordinated, efficient and effective team is any leader’s dream. A leader can play a role of a coach and create the dream team rather effortlessly.

As "coach", you will guide your team members to solve problems innovatively, make better decisions, learn new skills, grow both in professional and personal domain.Very few leaders in India are fortunate enough to get formal training as coaches, most of them do not. A lot depends on personal beliefs and casual tea table conversations.

One of the proven and tested approach to step into the role of a coach is what is called the GROW Model.

GROW is an acronym standing for
Goal
Current Reality
Options
Will

GROW model is a simple, positive and effective framework for structuring a coaching session.Devised by Sir John Whitmore,it provides an easy and effective framework for coaching individuals and teams.

Step 1 : Goal Setting
Coach Leader and team agree on specific objectives. This is the most crucial step - if you lose your way, you lose your destination. The Goals should be specific, succinct and measurable and time bound. The coach leader asks specific questions to make sure the goal is in the best interests of the team and the organization.

Step 2 : Assessing Current Reality
The team needs to have a realistic grasp of the starting point. Is the desired objective a realistic goal - what are the chances of achieving it?

Step 3 : Explore Options
The coach - leader guides the team in thinking of a number of ways of achieving the goal. The team decides which way to pursue. As the coach leader, your role is to help to help them explore possibilities so that the team can decide which option is best.

Step 4 : Will / Wrap Up
The team will be geared to go for the goal if they are excited and motivated by it. Coach- Leader ensures the commitment of the team. The challenge is to take a willing commitment and not an enforced commitment. This is what differentiates a leader from a coach – leader.

The art of asking questions is key for effective implementation of GROW model.

In the next post I will talk about ‘Art of Asking Question’ .

Designing Leaders and not just Managers

Quite often when I interact with an individual in a leadership role, I am tempted to point out –‘Hey, this is not leading, this is managing …’ and every time I have to control my temptation. As an executive coach, my role is to help the person explore and discover insights and not spoon feed him/her.

An article in HBR says, “Most corporations today are over managed and under-led.”I completely agree with this and am sure you would also agree.

I feel organizations today need to develop their capacity to exercise leadership. Successful companies don't wait for leaders to come along… They actively seek out people with leadership potential and expose them to career experiences designed to develop that potential. They choose their leaders by Design and not by Chance.

Careful selection, nurturing, encouragement supported by personal growth engagements like Executive Coaching / Leadership Coaching will help bright and committed executives play important leadership roles in today's complex business environment.

Welcome

Hello everyone,

We are an enthusiastic and dynamic lot aiming to inspire and motivate people around us to achieve the best out of life. We at Purple Tree(a young training and coaching organisation) have had varied training/ coaching experience and conversations around HR with executives across leading MNCs.

And in our short journey, we have experienced organizations struggling to manage employees and vice versa, confused executives, bright individuals getting stuck on the way, leaders looking for help, entrepreneurs wanting to brain storm….. The list goes on…..

What do I want to do? Is this what I really want to do? How did I land in this job? Why is it so difficult to get work-life balance? Is there such a thing as work-life balance?

Life is challenging! How would I handle my new role? I want to be the most successful CEO of this organization! The new job sucks as much as the old one! I never knew this is what I actually wanted.

What happens when a star employee steps up the ladder to a leadership role? How does he or she handle this leap? How does this move affect them and their work? More questions, few answers...

Being an HR professional, I was privy to some of the biggest and toughest challenges executives faced in their personal and professional life. I would always think how best I could help them….

Was I able to help them? Sometimes, sometimes not. Were they able to help themselves?...sometimes…sometimes not. Was the organization able to help them?... ????????. Was the family able to help them? ????? Did they seek help? Do we seek help easily and comfortably?

‘What separates those who achieve from those who don’t, is in direct proportion to ones ability to ask for help’ – says Donald Keough, Dir. Coca Cola Company

I nurtured my passion and ability to connect with people and decided to be a Coach. It’s been a year of an exciting journey as an Executive coach.

Executive Coaching is a development tool which helps executives to introspect and question themselves. It leads to success by Design and not by Accident. Today, Executive coaching is becoming a virtual prerequisite for anyone who aspires to be anyone.

Why? Because under the right circumstances, one-on-one interaction with an objective third party can provide a focus that other forms of organizational support simply cannot.

Watch out for the next posts…..we have a lot to share!